7 Quick Takes Friday - July 1, 2011

Thanks to Jen for hosting.

1. I can't believe it's July already! What happened to June?

Our July isn't getting off to a stellar start, as Elanor is running a low-grade fever and I'm staying home with her today. But hey, at least it'll give me a chance to catch up on some laundry.

2. Collin found a scorpion in his home office last Saturday. Know where it was? ON HIS FOOT. He actually shook it off twice, thinking it was a fly or something, before looking down and realizing just what was trying to crawl on him. He smashed the sucker dead and spent some time looking to see if it had friends around, but he didn't find any. We're firmly convinced that his guardian angel kept the darn thing from stinging him! (He was working at the time, too... a scorpion sting would've been a heck of a way to get off of work early!)

3. In happier and less freaky news, I'm very pleased to report that Violet is finally walking! She's been very close for a while, cruising along furniture all over the place and walking while holding on to our hands, but last weekend and this week she's grown much more confident about walking independently. At just shy of 16 months, she's my earliest walker (William didn't walk until about 18 months, and Elanor was around 21 months, but she needed occupational therapy before she started walking).

4. In some ways my pregnancy is flying by, and in other ways it's dragging. Some days I can't believe I'm already at 16 weeks (and will be scheduling my 20-week ultrasound at Tuesday's appointment!), and other days December seems so far away. (Especially when I watch shows like A Baby Story [also known as "Birth: What Not to Do, Generally"] and see uber-cute newborns snuggling with their mamas. I love newborn snuggles!) Seeing pictures of beautiful baby Pamela Scholastica has only inflamed my baby fever.

5. I wrote a fun post about baby naming for the Catholic Phoenix blog this week. We have already chosen our boy and girl names for Señor/ita Cuatro, but we're the mysterious type who don't reveal them until after the baby's birth. :)

6. I finally read (well, listened to the audiobook of) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I thought it was excellent. Once scene made me cry, and several others had me tearing up. Very dark, very gritty, but very compelling storyline with cliffhangers that made me catch my breath. I have a fondness for dystopian fiction and this is one of the best stories I've read. Sadly, it wasn't hard to see how the world got to the point it is at in this setting, and I have my suspicions about several upcoming plot points regarding the history as it has been related to the residents of District Twelve versus reality.

I've reserved the next book of the trilogy from the library (again, audiobook format) and can't wait to continue the story!

My one tiny pet peeve was the name of one of the main characters. I couldn't figure out why the narrator spoke with a British accent only while pronouncing one of the main characters' names. It took me a while to realize that the name was "Peeta," not "Peter"! But in my head, he's Peter and I can't shake it.

7. Our plans for the 4th of July are pretty low-key (assuming Elanor is feeling better, of course, and no one else is sick); we're going to the annual Surprise celebration, which includes a baseball game with a spectacular fireworks show afterward. We've done this every year on the 4th since we moved here, and it's always a fun time.

Have a great weekend!